Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The CPIM has done well to leave the decision on strikes affecting the IT sector to the West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. It is also fortunate that the West Bengal chief minister has won his battle within the CPIM on the issue. At one point of time, it almost appeared as if the Left parties were out to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs for the country. An adverse decision would have greatly undermined India8217;s remarkable achievements in services exports and could have left the Indian services sector seriously hobbled by bad labour markets, just as has been the case with Indian manufacturing. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee8217;s decision to take on the party leadership on the issue seems to have paid off and the central leadership 8212; normally seen as far removed from the practical difficulties of governance 8212; has thankfully seen sense this time.
It is also true that trends in the labour market, especially in the new modern private sector, have moved away from the old notions of professional trade unionism. While workers negotiate their wages and working conditions on an individual basis, there is a new modern professional class 8212; especially visible in the IT sector in India 8212; which has turned its back on the notion of trade unions. In that sense, the question of not having strikes in IT is more symbolic than a decision that would impact work in the IT sector.
